Investing in Chen Chang'an?
What's going on?
The City Lord's Mansion's move left many people utterly baffled!
Since when does the City Lord's Mansion involve itself in investing in members of the Heavenly Pride Ranking?
No one had ever seen or even heard of such a thing before. Yet now, they were actually doing it—and investing in someone everyone else had overlooked, no less.
Chen Chang'an himself found it rather odd. Did the City Lord's Mansion really have such sharp judgment?
"Does your City Lord's Mansion usually participate in investments like this?" Chen Chang'an asked curiously.
"We never said we didn’t," came the reply.
"It’s just that very few people ever catch the City Lord’s eye."
"You’re one of them. Yun Qingluan is another."
"Though, aren’t you Yun Qingluan’s master? Investing in you is practically the same as investing in her."
"This deal is nothing but profitable, no matter how you look at it."
Chen Chang'an was clever, but the other party wasn’t foolish either. Investing in him promised returns tenfold, even a hundredfold—how could they pass up such an opportunity?
Though even the City Lord’s Mansion’s own people didn’t understand why their lord had made this decision, they trusted that he always had his reasons.
"Investing in me won’t come cheap," Chen Chang'an said with a faint smile.
"But within the entire Profound Heaven Domain, no investment holds more value than ours."
"Surely no one would dispute that," the City Lord’s Mansion representative declared confidently.
No one in the crowd dared to argue. After all, this was the Heavenly Pride City’s City Lord’s Mansion.
While the Mansion primarily managed the city’s affairs, who would dare cause trouble here?
It was common knowledge that in Heavenly Pride City, two forces were untouchable: the Heavenly Pride Pavilion and the City Lord’s Mansion.
Moreover, every City Lord was not from the Profound Heaven Domain but came from a higher-ranking power, stationed here to oversee the city and maintain the Heavenly Pride Ranking.
Even the Meng Family, the Profound Heaven Domain’s overlords, had to show utmost respect in the City Lord’s Mansion’s presence.
"He’s struck gold! This guy actually caught the City Lord’s eye?"
"Damn it, who the hell is he? Even Meng Xiaohui never got an offer from the Mansion—why him?"
"No idea. Isn’t he from the Yun Family?"
"No, he’s not. I saw him yesterday at the testing hall—he shattered the testing monument."
"What? He’s the one who broke the testing monument? His strength is at the Heavenly Immortal Realm’s peak?"
"Wait, shouldn’t he be over thirty thousand years old? What’s the point of investing in him then?"
"You clearly don’t know anything. It’s been tested before—no matter how strong someone over thirty thousand years is, the testing monument won’t react to them."
"So, since he shattered it, he’s definitely under thirty thousand years old."
"A Heavenly Immortal Realm peak expert under thirty thousand? That’s insane! When has the Profound Heaven Domain ever had someone like that? And why was he unknown until now?"
"Hard to say. Maybe he kept a low profile. Or maybe… he’s not even from the Profound Heaven Domain."
Hearing the murmurs around them, the Meng Family finally began paying serious attention to Chen Chang'an. So, he was the one who shattered the testing monument?
"Big bro, are you about to hit the jackpot?"
"Don’t forget about me!" Da Huang said excitedly.
Chen Chang'an ignored him and instead asked the City Lord’s Mansion representative, "What kind of resources will your Mansion provide me?"
"Anything within our means. If you ask for it, we’ll give it."
"That’s the City Lord’s order."
This generous? Whatever they controlled, they’d hand over if he asked?
"Fine, I accept."
With an offer this good, Chen Chang'an wasn’t about to refuse. The resources he needed for cultivation were astronomical—if he had to scrounge for them himself, it’d take forever.
"You still need something?"
Noticing the City Lord’s Mansion representative hadn’t left, Chen Chang'an raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing urgent. But… are you staying here?"
"You already have our Mansion’s investment."
The representative gave him a puzzled look. Didn’t this guy plan to visit the City Lord at all?
"I’m a man of loyalty."
"I can’t just abandon my brothers now that I’ve secured an investment."
"I still need to help them get theirs," Chen Chang'an declared righteously.
His words filled the City Lord’s Mansion representative with admiration. Not only was this man’s talent monstrous, but his character was also top-tier!
Even after receiving such a lavish offer, he still remembered to help his friends. Such integrity was rare these days.
"Our apologies for underestimating you. We’ll take our leave now."
"We’ll arrange some cultivation resources for you as soon as possible."
"That’d be perfect."
The City Lord’s Mansion’s involvement spurred even more people to consider investing. But this time, their main target was Chen Chang'an.
Whether it was Shen Yunfei, Yun Zhilan, or even Yun Qingluan, none of them were the real prize anymore.
Many just wanted to get on Chen Chang'an’s good side, hoping to forge a connection that might prove useful later.
Chen Chang'an’s open acceptance of their overtures boosted their confidence—he seemed friendly and approachable.
"What should we do? Should we approach him too?"
"Shouldn’t we report to the Family Head first?"
"Right. I’ll contact him now."
The Meng Family members were also tempted. If they could befriend Chen Chang'an, it’d mean establishing a link to the City Lord’s Mansion.
Just as they were about to contact their Family Head, another piece of news spread through the Heavenly Pride Tower’s vicinity.
"Have you heard? Meng Xiaohui is here!"
"Meng Xiaohui? The Heavenly Pride Ranking’s number one?"
"Exactly! He hasn’t set foot in Heavenly Pride City for over five thousand years. This time, he’s probably making one last push before turning thirty thousand."
"Why a final push? Is he worried Yun Zhilan might steal his top spot?"
"No, Meng Xiaohui arrived when Yun Zhilan was being tested. That can’t be the reason."
"I’ve heard a rumor—only those who clear the Heavenly Pride Tower’s fiftieth floor qualify for the higher-tier Heavenly Pride Ranking competition."
"If I had to guess, Meng Xiaohui is here for that. He’s not getting any younger, and if he delays further, he might miss his chance entirely."
"Damn, you need to clear fifty floors? Does that mean no one in the Profound Heaven Domain has ever qualified?"
"Sadly, yes. What counts as genius here doesn’t even meet the baseline in the broader Ancient Immortal Domain."
As the crowd buzzed with speculation, Meng Xiaohui himself appeared near the Heavenly Pride Tower.
The appearance of Meng Xiaohui instantly silenced the murmuring crowd, as all eyes turned toward the top-ranked prodigy on the Heavenly Pride List.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
